When the entire island of Luzon in the Philippines was declared under community quarantine to control the spread of COVID-19, I was in my hometown — a small municipality in northern Luzon.
Vocation
God’s presence often appears when we least we expect it. We see God in the eager face of a child who is still capable of smiling amidst his suffering. We encounter God who comes to us as a piece of bread in the mystery of the Mass, which we often ignore. We sometimes forget how to recognize the face of God, how to feel his presence. Despite all this, we should always remember that God is with us all the time.
Holy week is always an important part my life because it is when I am most reminded of the passion and death of our Lord, Jesus Christ. It is a significant event in the Philippines, where the population is predominantly Catholic. However, even in Pakistan’s small Christian community, the Holy week is also a highlight in their lives.
Praying, fasting and almsgiving: three words that gave me meaningful and substantial insights in my missionary journey here in Khipro, Pakistan. These have always been the three pillars of Lent.
The village of Parola, Tondo is a shanty-town where the Pasig River and Manila bay waters meet. It has been five years since it was completely gutted by a huge fire.
Christmas always brings joy in my life. As a child, I always looked forward to the coming of that day. However, as time progressed, I realized that Christmas does not only bring joy but also an attached message with it. It is God, conveying and reminding me of my journey as a missionary.
People often think of hospitals as a place where only pain and suffering occur. Most people, including myself, would probably say that the hospital is the last place they want to be in. However, it is also a place where genuine love exists, as I discovered while working in the hospital apostolate.
With its long history, Cebu is undeniably the queen city of the South where the first seed of Christianity in the Philippines was planted. My first time in Cebu blessed me with new experiences when I became a delegate of the National Youth Day (NYD).
Fr. Chris Saenz is a native of Bellevue, Nebraska, and belongs to the Missionary Society of St. Columbans. He was ordained in 2000. He is presently assigned in the US.
It has been a year since I’ve been to the village of Kanni in Mandalay division and still, not a drop of rain has fallen as evidenced in the dry canals and dry land. There is an urgent sense of desperation for the rain to come soon because many have prepared the land for planting peanuts and sesame, two important crops of the village.
As I continued my journey in this side of the world, I came to realize that despite the diversity of religions there is always a prevailing human factor that is common: the capacity to love, care and pray for each other. This insight dawned on me during my stay in my parish.
I was a pilgrim of the NYD for a reason. I believe that I have encountered Christ in the people that I met: from my delegation, to my foster family, to Team Dominic Savio and to all NYD pilgrims. The National Youth Day in Cebu is over, but the journey for young individuals like me, as servants of the Lord, has just started.
It is a memorable feat, having another recruit ordained. No other feelings can describe it but happiness. I couldn’t hold my tears when Fr. Louie Ybañez started to give his blessing, especially to Bishop De La Peña and fellow priests during his ordination.
Father Peter was ordained to the priesthood, with two other priests and two deacons, on January 25 in China. He is the first to be ordained for the Missionary Society of St. Columban from Mainland China. This is a momentous event for the Columban Missionaries after a hundred years of responding to God’s call to mission.
This year 2019, we honor the Columban Missionaries who are celebrating their Diamond, Golden and Silver jubilees. May God grant them blessings of good health, peace and joy in their life of service.
Praise be to God! Fr. Louie Ybañez was ordained a priest by Bishop Edwin dela Peña, MSC of St. Mary’s Prelature of Marawi on February 16, 2019
Fr. Jason, from Binalbagan, Negros Occidental, was ordained in 2015 and is working in Korea.
A faith born in the shadows cast by a single candle in a tightly curtained room of a small farming village in China emerging from the repression of the Cultural Revolution in the early 1980s blossomed on February 4 in the chapel of the Columban Seminary in Manila, as Peter knelt before Bishop Honesto Ongtioco to be ordained a deacon, becoming a minister of the word of God that he had imbibed in the clandestine darkness of his home so many years before.
Peter Dong, from China, was ordained as deacon by Most Rev. Honesto F. Ongtioco, Bishop of the Diocese of Cubao, on Sunday, February 4, 2018 at the Columban House of Studies in Cubao, Quezon City. Included in this article is an excerpt of Bsp Ongtioco's homily.
On Sunday, May 13, 2018, Bishop Honesto F. Ongtioco of Cubao ordained Louie Q. Ybañez as deacon at the Columban House of Studies, 42 Rosario Drive, Cubao, Quezon City.
Ordination of Rev. Fr. Erl Dylan Tabaco, SSC on February 17, 2018 at Most Holy Rosary Parish, Agusan, Cagayan de Oro City. "I have chosen you." Jn 15:16
On the Occasion of the Missionary Society of St. Columban’s 100 years of Mission
Fr Leonito Distor is from Marbel, South Cotabato and is the fifth of six siblings. He was installed as the First Filipino Columban Parish Priest of Our Lady of Remedies Parish, Malate, Manila on May 1, 2014. He is currently a member of the Regional Council of the Society of St. Columban in the Philippines.
This is an extract from the sharing of Jose Isagani Flores PhD from Kabankalan City, Negros Occidental, a member of the first group to enter the College Formation Program of the Columbans in Mabolo, Cebu City, in 1984. He is on the college faculty at Colegio San Agustin, Bacolod City, where his wife, Jo Ann A. Flores PhD RN, is Dean of the College of Nursing.
Accompaniment Program – is a program of the Columban Fathers’ Vocation Ministry for young people who are discerning their Vocation in life.
On Sunday 30 April Bishop Honesto F. Ongtioco of Cubao ordained Erl Dylan J. Tabaco as deacon in the Columban House of Studies, 42 Rosario Drive, Cubao, Quezon City.